Garment conveyer



S. SELDIN GARMENT CONVEYER Jan. 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 19, 1948 Seymour Se/din IN V EN TOR.

mfg away 3% Jan. 1951 s. SELDlN 2,536,575

GARMENT CONVEYER Filed Aug. 19, 1948 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2.

Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT CONVEYER Seymour Seldin, Utica, N. Y.

Application August 19, 1948, Serial No. 45,022

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a conveying system for carrying articles suspended on hooks, and more particularly to an automatic device adaptable for use in laundry and dry cleaning establishments.

In a conventionally operated dry cleaning plant, after articles of apparel are cleaned and pressed, they are assembled on hangers and placed on racks for storage prior to delivery. It is necessary, therefore, that the articles suspended from hangers or similar article carrying elements be manually transported from the pressing zone to the storage or delivery departments. This involves either direct manual carrying of the articles or transporting the articles through the manual propulsion of a portable rack. Thus, labor and time of an unnecessary nature is expended adding to the cost of service.

To provide an automatic link in the chain of laundry and dry cleaning service is the prime purpose of this invention. In this respect, this invention aims to provide an automatic conveyor comprising an endlessbelt and guide and supporting means for article carrying hangers, the guide and supporting means being horizontally disposed parallel with the travel path of the belt, and propelling means carried by the belt being provided in operative association with the guide and supporting means. Thus,the hangers, carrying garments, are placed on the guide and supporting means at the pressing zone and are automatically moved along the guide and supporting means by engagement of the hangers by the propelling means correspondin to the movement of the endless belt. The horizontally disposed guide supporting means is adapted to extend from the pressing zone to the storage or delivery departments and the articles will be automatically propelled along the guide and supporting means to the departments, at which point they are removed from the guide and supporting means and placed on storage racks or the like.

More particularly, this invention comprises a pair of parallel longitudinally split tubes which are suspended in a horizontal plane from the ceiling of a dry cleaning establishment, the tubes being positioned one above the other, with the lower tube adapted to receive the hook portion of conventional hangers. Operatively extending through the upper tubes is an endless belt, having a plurality of spaced fingers extending from the back portion thereof, the finger means movable through the longitudinal opening in the lower tube to engage the hangers and move the same along the lower tube to the desired destination.

A further advantage of this invention is to be noted in the fact that the garments or articles of apparel or the like may be placed on the lower tube at any point along the runner surface of the lower tube and will be conveyed in an unbroken line to the desired destination point.

A meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of supporting racks, which are secured at their upper ends to the ceiling or similar horizontal supports and which support at their lower ends the guide and supporting tubes, the same being disposed in a parallel superposed placement. The supportin rack further function to rotatably support a plurality of idler pulleys, on which is operatively disposed the endless belt.

A further meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of the superposed tubes, the same having longitudinal openings, which are disposed adjacent each other in aligned registry. In this respect, the endless belt, which is moved longitudinally through the upper tube, carrie a plurality of propelling fingers, which are disposed through-the aligned longitudinal openings in the respective tubes. Thus, the upper tube serves to guide the fingers and maintain the same in the longitudinal opening in the lower tube, while the lower tube serves a similar function and also serves as a runner surface for the garmentcarrying hangers.

These and ancillary objects and other meritorious features to become more full apparent upon a perusal of the following description are attained by this invention, a preferred embodiment of which is set forth in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational View of this invention, with a portion of the guide and supporting tubes shown in section;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the tubes, taken substantially on the plane of line 2-2 of Figure 1 and illustrating the operating means for the endless belt and the supporting rack in elevation;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 33 looking in the direction of the arrows, as seen in Figure 4; and,

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational View of the guide and supporting tubes, showing the operative association between the propelling fingers of the endless belt and the hook portion of the hangers.

In the construction illustrated in Figures 1-4, by way of example, the conveyor I0 comprises an endless belt I2 of substantially V cross sectional shape, the belt being supported and guided by a pair of V-shaped pulleys l4 and H5. The pulley I4 i retained rotatably on a spindle l8 which projects laterally from the lower end of a vertically depending supporting bar 20, the same having its opposite end secured to a suitable horizontal framework or mounting, such as a ceiling or the like. The pulley it functions as the drive pulley and means is provided for rotating the pulley I so as to impart the rotation therefrom to the belt 12. In this respect, attention is directed to Figure 2, wherein a conventional electric motor 22 is mounted on a horizontall disposed shelf 2l, which is supported by a bracket 26 extending outwardly and upwardly from a ver- 2 tical support, such as a wall or the like. The motor 22 is provided with a reduction gear and a V-shaped pulley 2 3 is journalled on the xtending end of the drive shaft 26 thereof. lhe belt pulley I6 is journalled on the end of a shaft 28, a smaller pulley 30 being secured on the opposite endof the shaft in vertical alignment with the pulley 2d and communicated therewith by a connecting drive belt 32. The shaft 28 is rotatably supported by means of a bracket 34 secured to the underside of The preferred form of the device for suspending :2;

the superposed tubes comprises a hanger rack '38, which has an upper section and a lower section 52. The upper section 56 is bolted as at 5 3 to the ceiling or similar supporting structure and has its opposite end inturned to form a support for a spindle 56, upon which is disposed a small idler pulley 58. The upper section so is substantially G-shaped and the lower section 52 depends therefrom, as seen in Figure 2-. In this respect, the lower section is outwardly bent as at 60 and has its lower end curved upwardly as at 62 so that the lower section comprises a substantially straight depending attaching portion and a terminating open elliptical section. The end $2 of the lower rack or arm section 52 is welded as at 64 to the undersurface of the tube 4%, as seen in Figure 3. The tube. 4 1 is horizontally placed in Vertical alignment with the tube s6 and is welded as at 66 to the curved portion 89 of the lower rack. The configuration of the lower rack section is of vital importance, since it is necessary that the end :32 and the curved portion 5t of the supporting bar 52 be substantially in vertical alignment so as to maintain the tubes in alignment and allow articles to travel between the tubes.

For propelling articles, suspended from hooks or the like or conventional hangers it, as seen in Figures 3 and i, the upper surface of the lower tube 46 functions as a runner surface for the hook portion l2 of the hangers. The tubes are longitudinally split so as to be provided with vertically aligned longitudinal slots or openings 14 and I6. Projecting outwardl in spaced fashion from the back portion of the V-shaped belt '82 are a plurality of operating fingers or propelling pins 78 which, as the belt travels through the upper tube as depend through the opening into the opening '56 of th lower tube and engage the hook portion 12 of the hangers and thereby move 4 the hangers along the runner surface of the lower tube.

In operation, with respect to Figure 1, it is to be noted that as the belt is rotated through the drive pulley it, upon actuation of the motor 22 and the appurtenant driving structure, the pins 2'8 move through to the opening 16 in the lower tube and engage the hangers propelling them along the runner surface for the desired distance or until a destination point is reached. In this respect, the lower tube may be provided with a downwardly directed end portion 8% defining an arcuately curved runner surface so that the hangers may slide off the end automatically.

It is to be at once apparent that the conveyor system is not limited to straight travel but with the addition of variously placed idler pulleys, the !-belt may assume a travel path of a circuitous nature or curved movement so that the guide tubes would be curved upwardly or outwardly correspondingly andthearti'cles would be conveyed not in a straight line of travel but in any desired path of travel, depehdentup'oh the directional path between the various stations or zones in an establishment. In this respect, it is believed that the primary novelty of this invention resides in the employment of the guide and supporting tubes, the means provided for supporting the same and the propelling means including the pins projecting from the beltin operativeassociation with the tubes. Therefore, the particular pl cement of the same, the design or attachment thereof is not seen matrial, and, furthermore, various changes may be carried out, as coming within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A conveyor for transporting articles suspended from hooks comprising an endless belt, supporting pulleys for said belt depending from a horizontal support, a horizontally disposed supporting tube upon which the hooks are slidably disposed, said tube being positioned parallel to the travel path of the belt and formed on its upper side with a longitudinal slot extending the length of the tube, a plurality of spaced hook propelling fingers projecting from the back portion of the belt and operatively extending through the slot in the tube to engage and push the hooks along the upper side 'of the tube, and means disposed parallel with the tube for positioning and maintaining said fingers in the "slot in the tube.

2. The combination of claim 1-, wherein said last mentioned means includes a guide tube for said belt said guide tube having a longitudinal slot in the underside thereof, said slot being vertically aligned with the slot in the supporting tube.

3. A conveyor for transferring 'a'rticles suspended from hooks comprising an endless belt, operating means for said belt, a pair 'of longitudinally extending parallel tubes disposed 'adja cent each other and formed with longitudinally extending slots facing each other, said belt being operatively disposed longitudinall through one of said tubes and a plurality or assets projecting from said belt and movably "disposes throng-i1 the slot in the one tube and examine into the second tube through the slot thereimf's'aid second tube supporting the hooks slidably olisp'dsed thereon. I

4'. A conveyor for transferring articles sissuspension arms vertically depending from the overhead support, a longitudinally disposed guide tube mounted on the arms and a parallel supporting tube mounted on the lower ends of the arms below the guide tube, said tubes being interposed between the pulley wheels and the belt being movably positioned in the guide tube, said tubes having longitudinal slots in their lower and upper surfaces respectively to receive the fingers.

SEYMOUR SELDIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Name Date 1,317,745 Watson Oct. 7, 1919 13611188 Bixler June 3, 1930 1,902,873 Marone Mar. 28, 1933 2,449,669 Pohlers Sept. 21, 1948 

